A little past midnight on March 26, the 984-foot-long Sri Lanka-bound cargo vessel ‘Dali’ reported light flickering and power loss, which left the ship’s angle towards Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore City (Maryland) in the US.
Within the next few minutes, the Singapore-flagged vessel ramped into the pillar of a bridge over the Patapsco River, bringing down the entire 2-mile critical artery of the American historic bridge. The aftermath resulted in six people plunging into the icy-cool water of the river.
On March 27, six missing workers were declared presumed dead, and the search for them was suspended as authorities announced that they shifted from a search and rescue operation to a recovery effort.
Details from the moments leading to the disaster were discovered in the cargo ship’s ‘black box’ voyage data recorder (VDR) as the pilot issued a mayday call moment before the impending disaster.
The 22-member all-Indian crew of the Dali were present on board at the time of the crash. Further, no ship crew got injured in the incident. Eight construction workers were fixing potholes on the bridge when it collapsed. Two of them survived, and the other six were presumed dead.
The cost of rebuilding the bridge?
Earlier, US President Joe Biden promised to visit Baltimore soon and said he wanted the federal government to pay to rebuild the bridge.
On Thursday (March 28), the Transportation Department approved $60 million in ‘quick release’ emergency relief funds to aid in clearing debris and begin the process of rebuilding the structure.
To replace the bridge, Congress would need to approve funding. As per the initial estimates, the cost of rebuilding the bridge would require around $600 million, according to economic analysis company IMPLAN.
Meanwhile, federal officials have told Maryland lawmakers the final cost of rebuilding the bridge could soar to at least $2 billion, Roll Call reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions.
Notably in the process insurers could face losses of around $4 billion, analysts said. If so, this would make the tragedy a record shipping insurance loss. Further, the closure of the port for just one month would cost Maryland $28 million in lost business, according to IMPLAN.
Death toll and rescue operation
Until now, divers have recovered the remains of two of the six missing workers more than a day after the incident happened. The bodies of two men were found in a red pickup truck submerged in the Patapsco River. Divers rescued two workers from the river alive on Tuesday, and one was hospitalised.
The two men whose bodies were recovered on Wednesday were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes (35) of Baltimore, originally from Mexico, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera (26) of nearby Dundalk, originally from Guatemala.
Spanning 1.6 miles across the Patapsco River, the Francis Scott Key Bridge carries significant relevance in US history. At this site in 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote the country’s national anthem ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’.